In this episode I am joined by Dr James Justin Sledge, a professor of philosophy and religion specialising in the Western Esoteric tradition and founder of the popular Esoterica Youtube channel. Dr Sledge recounts how his working class upbringing profoundly influenced both his view of academia and his work ethic within it. He recounts his early fascination with philosophers and mystics, and recalls his studies in religion, philosophy, and the occult. Dr Sledge discusses the importance of language learning in academic study of religion and shares his own practical strategies for achieving competency in several ancient and modern languages including Latin, Hebrew, German, French, Akkadian, and more. Dr Sledge also shares his views on education, diagnoses its problems and offers solutions, gives advice to the self-learner, and reveals his surprising view on whether attaining enlightenment is worth the effort. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep248-esoterica-academia-dr-justin-sledge Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics include: 00:00 - Intro 01:07 - Working class upbringing in Misissipi 03:03 - Limited access to education 04:13 - Exploitation in academia 05:20 - Fascination with Aristotle 08:55 - Accidentally entering college 11:28 - Dr Sledge’s experience in college 12:58 - Double majoring in religious studies and philosophy while working full time 1408 - Studying Western Esotericism in Amsterdam, Holland 15:44 - Bad reputation of Western Esotericism in academia 18:07 - Lessons learned studying in Amsterdam 20:37 - Distaste of punching down 21:44 - Surprising difference between USA and European education 24:47 - Toxicity in American academia 25:57 - How should we educate ourselves? 28:42 - Intellectual aristocracy or a cartel? 29:50 - Educating through Youtube 31:47 - How would Dr Sledge fix the American education system? 34:42 - The importance for scholars to read French and German 37:28 - Learning Latin and Hebrew, reading the Bible in the original language 39:50 - How to learn ancient languages 41:56 - Philology and the dirty secret of The Key of Solomon 43:56 - Copying out texts and scrolls 46:46 - Dr Sledge shows scrolls he has copied by hand 49:59 - Dr Sledge’s highly structured work and study life 58:24 - Common mistakes when learning Latin and other languages 01:01:21 - Pedagogical data and living Latin 01:05:48 - Dr Sledge’s advice for young students who wish to go to University 01:06:56 - Advice for the autodidacts 01:09:54 - The importance of education 01:13:30 - Why Dr Sledge doesn’t want to become enlightened 01:15:10 - The horror of heaven 01:16:15 - How Dr Sledge wants to die 01:16:47 - Enlightenment isn’t worth it … To find out more about Dr Justin Sledge, visit: - https://www.justinsledge.com/ - https://www.youtube.com/@TheEsotericaChannel … 
For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - www.guruviking.com Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James